''The Bard of Blood'' is a 2015 Indo-Pakistani fictional
espionage thriller
Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligenc ...
novel written by debutant author, Bilal Siddiqi. He wrote the novel at the age of 20 during his college days in Mumbai. It was published by
Penguin books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...
(RAW) agent and now a professor of Shakespeare in Mumbai. He was forced to leave RAW after a disastrous mission in Balochistan. He is called by the agency to return after Sadiq Sheikh, his ex-boss is killed. Meanwhile,
Mullah Omar
Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001.
Born into a religious family of ...
Siddiqi said that he got a "sudden growing interest in the covert world of espionage" at the age of 17 and "the entire talk of jihad and Islamic extremism that plagued every newspaper." He started writing it at the age of 19 and later met Chiki Sarkar, the then Chief Editor of Penguin Books, through
Hussain Zaidi
S. Hussain Zaidi (born 28 February 1968) is an Indian author and former investigative journalist. His works include '' Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia'', '' Mafia Queens of Mumbai'', '' Black Friday'', ''My Name is Abu Salem'' ...
whom he had been assisting for a few years. Zaidi had recommended Siddiqui's name to Sarkar. She read the half manuscript and then decided to publish it. It took him "roughly a year" to write the novel.
Adaptation
In November 2017, it was announced that a
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
. The screenplay is written by Siddiqui. The cast includes
Emraan Hashmi
Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hashmi debuted in 2003 with the crime thriller film ''Footpath'' and subsequently appeared in films include ''Murder'' (2004), '' Kalyug'' ...
,
Vineet Kumar Singh
Vineet Kumar Singh (born 28 August 1978) is an Indian actor and writer known for his strong portrayal of an aspiring boxer Shravan Kumar Singh in Mukkabaaz (2018). A M.D. in Ayurveda from Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur, Vineet ...
,
Kirti Kulhari
Kirti Kulhari (born 30 May 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi-language films and series. She made her acting debut with the film '' Khichdi: The Movie'' in 2010 and then starred in ''Shaitan'' in 2011. She then appeared in the films ...
,
Sobhita Dhulipala
Sobhita Dhulipala (born 31 May 1992) is an Indian actress and model who works primarily in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam films. She won the Femina Miss India Earth 2013 title at Femina Miss India 2013 pageant and represented India at Miss ...
,
Jaideep Ahlawat
Jaideep Ahlawat is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He completed his graduation from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in 2008. After completing his education, he headed Mumbai, to pursue his dreams to become an act ...
,
Danish Husain
Danish Husain is the stage name of Murtaza Danish Husaini, an Indian actor, storyteller, poet and theatre director. He has also been credited as Dan Husain and Murtaza Danish Husain.
Early life, family and education
Murtaza Danish Husaini was bo ...
,
Rajit Kapur
Rajit Kapur is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other notable roles are as ...
and
Shishir Sharma
Shishir Sharma (born 10 January 1955) is an Indian film and television actor. He appeared in Zee TV's ''Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann'', and is known for playing the role of Jagmohan Prasad in ''Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli''. Currently, he can be s ...